Retro Gamer
Anyone subscribe? I do, has anyone had their latest issue? Bomberman was the last issue I think the next will have an asteroids front cover. I was under the impression subscribers issues are sent out a little earlier only the next issue is due on the shelves on the 10th. I've emailed the mag, even Darren - but no fecker has answered me or at least acknowleged my email.
Wouldn't mind but I've got every issue, at least Martyn took the trouble to reply when he ran it.
I'm a tad peeved
Wouldn't mind but I've got every issue, at least Martyn took the trouble to reply when he ran it.
I'm a tad peeved
Post edited by BiNMaN on
Comments
I always just drop the magazines an email and they eventually either send me a new copy or extend my subscription by one issue.
have trouble getting it, and dont wanna subscribe cos of cash
i did get the last issue (bomberman) cos the missus went into whitby...only place i know that sells it round here now............need to catch up on loads of past issues tho :(
hmmm
must admit I don't read it as thoroughly as I used to, I think part of me still gets it just to keep my collection complete. Don't mind buying 'em as I don't smoke anymore and I drink very very little so it's one of my few vices.
Have you thought about getting the DVD version? If you're ever down our way you can have a scan at mine you'll jave to supply your own white gloves and tweezers tho':grin:
If my subscription issue doesn't come through and they can't replace it (not got that far yet) I may get rid of them and cancel no point forking out good money if I can't keep it complete.
i even still have the retro survival : the payback issue (the cd one from when the mag disappeared before it came back)
TomD
I quite like the old and obscure consoles, but I've never met anyone who really cares about MegaDrive and SNES games as much as people do about their old home computers. I know there's some projects to make new cartridge games for these things that make a great feature, but there really is absolutely sod-all mention of ST and Amiga houses and titles.
It used to have some interesting technical specs on old machines, but if you look they don't align across machines for comparison. I'd like to see a bit more in-depth stuff on the differences between machines. I suggested as such on the forums and one of the contributors said he'd considered it, but thought it was too technical. Then one of the Amstrajahideen waded in to the conversation with how the article would have to be carefully checked to make sure it wasn't biased against the CPC, and someone else told me I should do a podcast on the subject. Dickheads.
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
i suppose i get enough speccy stuff from this site.
theres always arguments over there about what the magazine should be featuring, i don't think everyone will be happy until they put out something close to the 2007 edition of US vogue, which apparetly weighed 5lb's. then they can have everything in there people want.
i don't agree that PS1, N64, and the xbox should feature at all in there.
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
What thread was that ? Saw your one asking about lots of hardware techy details
And yes, the CPC does get an unfair share of the magazine's coverage too. And I hate the waste of space double page "articles" on a given game, where there is one column of text, and the other five sixths of the two page spread are taken up by one huge screenshot, which apart from anything else, makes the game look far too blocky (it's a screenshot of a retro game, not a 1920x1400 ultra modern PC game). If they are too lazy to add more text about the game, then at least add say a 4 x 6 block of smaller screenshots instead of one huge screenshot. Why not have one page just for text, including a full description of the game, and any notes (bugs, conversions, etc), with comments or quotes about the game from other people, and a block of screenshots on the second page?
And a bit of thought or getting someone else, someone with some knowledge of the given subject, to check the ideas or articles before publication wouldn't go amiss either. I mean, they had a "The twenty-five top isometric games" article, which was hardly well thought out - such disimilar games as Zaxxon, Knightlore, Fallout, and Populous are all such games, and they can't easily be compared as apart from the visual viewing angle, they are totally different games. If they'd have done "The best isometric shooters" list, instead, for example, then it would have made much more sense. And the next month they could have done "The best isometric strategy games", and so on. Granted, that would involve the old "is game x a platform game with adventure elements, or an adventure game with platform elements" question, but at least the resulting article(s) would be better thought out.
And that article they did on Perfect Dark was awful.
To be fair, they do many great articles, and rarely get it wrong. But when they do it's all the more annoying since the games and machines they write about get so little exposure in the popular press that Retro Gamer is very possibly the only chance to read about those things, so you really want them to get it right.
http://www.retrogamer.net/forum/viewtopic.php?f=1&t=15006&start=14
- IONIAN-GAMES.com -
But its sooo hard to please everyone when it comes to retro. I purely love gaming, i'm not keen on the techy details of unknown machines. I love reading about the games but i'm not keen on some obscure japanese shooter or adventure which i need to learn japanese to play
But many others do like those and the complete opposite to me. Retro Gamer do have a very difficult job as you cant please everyone. Yeah i admit i'll buy it whatever (I do love the mag though) as i really like having a monthly retro mag around, some people will flick through WH Smiths and think 'nah not much i like..' and thats it which is a shame. Many of the articles have 'converted' me to other systems or games which i might not have tried before.
I honestly like the two page screenshots, often brings back great rose tinted memories. i'm a fan of those but i know some people arent, but for me its a thumbs up. They do the two page spread with lots of screenshots sometimes, mostly its just one huge screenshot but they have changed it. Might be 'lazy' but i would love to see a few full page adverts of say Cobra or some other 8 bit game, further recreating the retro look of the mag. Some of the adverts back in Crash in those years were superb advertising the games.
Theres tons of games out there for me to try on many systems, i really do like retro gaming but i'm not a fan of deep techy specs or why the C64 sound chip did.... etc. But obviously others are. If RG feature more Speccy then people will moan theres not enough C64 etc.
Got every issue and theres been a lot of great stuff over the years, i've enjoyed the Matthew Smith stuff, or breaking down every screen in Manic Miner (I know some are sick of him), loved the YS supplement and lots of other Speccy bits over the years. Great mag and its a shame sometimes it creates a huge divide. Even if one month it was 100% Amstrad i would still buy it as i know in later months there'll be Speccy stuff, would rather them have an extra sales figure (And to keep going) than the mag gets killed off because theres an issue or two i'm not keen on so i wont buy it.
Just love it that in 2009 theres a retro mag out there in Smiths (and also theres retro events going on every year)
Theres a good set of people on the RG forums, met up with many of them at the various shows the last few years, many are passionate about their gaming which causes a few issues but nothing major.
Just like any forum you get disagreements, you only posted 34 times there. I wouldnt start to slate the whole place because of that.
I love playing R-Type on the Speccy, dont really give a monkeys the story behind it or why the C64 did this or that. I just play retro games ! But to be fair perhaps there should be a few pages every month for the more technical side of games etc.
Back in the day with Crash i didnt care for the adventure/technical pages, just loved the game reviews/tips so i always skipped over those. Could have a 3 page technical section every month which delves into machines etc much more. Still think 'Retro Gamer' as the name suggests doesnt want to go too technical
Just seen your sig, did you really do the graphics for Turbo the Tortoise ? Superb underated game that is
yeh, I was lucky enough to get a chance to work on it. I did the backgrounds on the speccy, 64 and the cpc Dennis (who came up with the original concept) did the sprites on the speccy and 64 but without digging my copies out I can't remember who did the cpc sprites.
I tried to get Dave to do a colour scroll rather than a monochrome game but he wouldn't cause the game engine was based on scrappy doo. We did discuss doing an 8 way scrolling Turbo 2.
Can't tell you how chuffed I was at the YS review, never read what crash said or SU I'll have to check them out. It still amazes me how well it was received and the compliments I still get today.
from graphic artsist on sanxion and crystal kingdom dizzy to binman eh?
pity you dint work on trashman
yeh I loved that game, it's so true to the job except it didn't pepare me for the huge pair of breasts I encountered working in the back entry on a block of terraced houses in Stoke one friday morning.
It's good money, job and knock and only 1/2 day on a friday, leaves you plenty of time to do other stuff. I've been desk bound for the last 2 1/2 years working in waste management but Im ready to go back. Just need to shed a couple of stone and get fit.
I had left the Speccy scene then and only last year i 'discovered' it here. Was after a good Speccy 'Mario Land' type game and someone suggested it. Loved it and played it non stop, very playable, great graphics, brilliant game.